


Catch me

by Frenchibi



Series: Iwaizumi Week 2016 [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Day 1, Domestic, First Meeting, Fluff, I don't know what I'm doing, Iwaizumi Week 2016, M/M, Mentions of Mental Illness, Prompt: Superhero
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 19:54:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7375294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frenchibi/pseuds/Frenchibi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The boy’s eyes are huge and round and only amplified by the enormous glasses he’s wearing. They’re too big for his face, and even as he says this they slip down to the end of his nose, and he pushes them back up in a movement that looks very routine.<br/>Hajime thinks the glasses make the boy kind of look like a bug, and he contemplates for about half a second whether or not he should catch him with his net.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Catch me

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Iwaizumi Week, Day 1: Superhero | ~~Delinquent~~ | ~~Seijou Blue~~

“Are you a superhero?”

The boy’s eyes are huge and round and only amplified by the enormous glasses he’s wearing. They’re too big for his face, and even as he says this they slip down to the end of his nose, and he pushes them back up in a movement that looks very routine.  
  
Hajime thinks the glasses make the boy kind of look like a bug, and he contemplates for about half a second whether or not he should catch him with his net. His conscience catches up with him though, sounding suspiciously like his mother in his head when he thinks ‘I can’t do that, I’ll scare him. Scaring people isn‘t nice.’

Hajime grips the net a little tighter, scrutinizing the boy before he slowly says: “…why?”  
  
The boy blinks and then points to the net Hajime is holding. “Do you use that to catch bad guys?”  
  
Hajime frowns, because he’s honestly never thought about the possibility. And then he frowns even more because how could this boy mistake his bug-catching net for a criminal-catching net? Don’t those need to be bigger? Is he stupid?

“...are you stupid,” is all he says, because it’s the conclusion his brain reached, and this time his politeness-first-filters aren’t fast enough. He regrets it instantly because the boy recoils and it looks like there are tears in his eyes.

It’s like when Hajime tried to explain to a girl in his old neighborhood that it’s not nice to step on bugs, and she’d insisted they were disgusting, so he’d punched her arm. His mother had been shocked, and he had learned that girls were delicate and you shouldn’t hit them, because it makes them cry. (Although his mother had said you shouldn’t hit anyone at all. Hajime isn’t sure he agrees - he still wants to punch kids that are mean to him. Or to bugs.)  
  
But Hajime didn’t hit this boy, and he looks like he’s going to cry anyway. Why is everyone so complicated?

The boy bites his lip, but when he says “I’m not stupid,” it doesn’t sound like he’s sure.  
  
“…it’s for catching bugs,” Hajime supplies, and he can’t quite look at the boy. He’s never been good at apologizing, even though he knows the almost-crying is probably his fault. “This net is too small to catch people, idiot.”  
  
“I’m not an idiot!” the boy says indignantly. “I just…” and he goes all quiet again, and he looks at the ground and mumbles the rest of his sentence into his shirt, so that Hajime has to lean forward to hear what he says. “…I just thought you looked cool with that. Superheroes are cool.”  
  
“Oh,” Hajime says. He straightens up and looks the boy over again. He kind of looks… like someone who’d want to be protected by a superhero, maybe. Huh.

“That’s not stupid,” he says, and the boy looks up at him again. “I’ve never tried to catch a criminal with my net before. D’you think it’d work?”  
  
And suddenly, the boy’s eyes light up again. “Wanna try?”  
  
And somehow, Hajime is captivated by the enthusiasm. He still thinks it probably won’t work, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t WANT to try. Lying is bad, he knows that. And it would be pretty cool to be a superhero, wouldn’t it…?

“…do you know where to find criminals?”  
  
The other boy stops and thinks for a moment. “…maybe… maybe we should look for their secret lair?”  
  
Hajime isn’t sure he trusts this kid’s judgment just yet. “And where’s that?”  
  
“I don’t know? So let’s look for it!”

The boy has already bounded off several feet (in a likely evil-lair-direction, probably) when Hajime calls out to stop him.  
  
“Hey, wait!”  
  
The boy turns, and when he realizes Hajime hasn’t followed him, he jogs back. “What’s wrong?”  
  
“…maybe. Uhm.” Hajime clears his throat. “Maybe it’s not so smart to go to an evil lair all by ourselves,” he says. He’s definitely not scared. He’s just being careful.

The other boy looks at him for a moment, stumped, and then he flops down to sit on the ground. “…you’re right,” he says, “what if they’re stronger than us? What if one net’s not enough? We need a better plan!”  
  
Hajime huffs out a breath and drops down beside him, his net clattering as it lands between them. “Yeah. Like… a superhero plan.”

After several minutes of sitting in relative silence (and a couple of half-hearted, unsuccessful plan-ideas), Hajime says: “…or I could just show you how to catch bugs?”

The boy blinks up at him. He’s lying on his stomach and doodling in the dirt with a small stick, which he now drops next to his picture. It looks like a face, but it’s all… weird.

“What’s that?” Hajime asks.

“It’s an alien!” the boy says excitedly. “D’you know about aliens?”

Now it’s Hajime’s turn to blink. Then he shakes his head. The boy’s eyes go wide. “Ooooh,” he says, and he sits up a little too fast, almost knocking himself back over as he scrambles to his feet. “Let me tell you about them! And you can show me how to catch bugs! We can be best friends!”

Hajime tilts his head to the side a little, thinking, weighing his options. Having a friend is nice, but he’s never had a best friend before. He wonders what that’s like - it sounds pretty cool though. Better than a normal friend, obviously. But he remembers something.

“I don’t even know what your name is. You can’t be someone’s best friend if you don’t know their name, right?”

Hajime isn’t sure if there are rules here, but that seems to make sense. And the boy nods in agreement. “You’re right,” he says earnestly. “But… can we be best friends if I tell you my name? And you tell me yours?”

After a second’s hesitation, Hajime shrugs. “Seems fine.”

He isn’t prepared for the wide, happy smile on the other boy’s face, and the flush of color that rises to his cheeks in excitement. “I’m Oikawa Tooru! But- you can call me Tooru.”

Hajime is a little taken aback by the sudden energy, but he nods and says “Tooru,” to see how it feels on his tongue. And then: “My name’s Iwaizumi Hajime.”

“Hajime,” Tooru says with a nod of his own. And he holds out his hand. “Best friends?”

Hajime shrugs a little and moves to shake Tooru’s outstretched hand, but the other boy pulls it back. “Only shake it if you mean it,” he says, and his voice is doing that weird thing again where it gets quieter, more uncertain.

“Why do you do that?” he asks.

Tooru looks up at him, surprised. “Because… I only want real friends. I had friends before, but they started making fun of me-”

“No, no,” Hajime interrupts. “I mean, why are you always mumbling like that?”

Tooru stares for a second, and he lets his hand drop to his side. “I don’t mumble,” he mumbles.

“You’re doing it again!” Hajime says indignantly. “I can’t hear you properly if you do that! And you’re saying important stuff, don’t you want me to hear it?”

When all Tooru does in response is push his glasses up again, Hajime holds his own hand out resolutely. “I’ll be best friends with you, but only if you promise you won’t run away from me.”

“Huh?”

Hajime pushes his lower lip forward in a pout, getting defensive. “I like bugs, okay? And I don’t like people who stomp on them. Makes me wanna punch people, and... then they always run away. I know that’s not nice, but… it’s not nice to stomp on bugs either! They’re not gross, they’re really interesting.”

His eyes zero in on Tooru’s, and he frowns at him. “If you’re a bug-stomper, I can’t be your friend.”

Tooru’s eyes are wide and round again, and he says “I’m not, I’m not!”

He looks to Hajime’s hand, and back up at his face. Then he holds out his own hand, so that they’re almost touching.

“I promise I won’t stomp on bugs,” he says. “And I won’t run away if you don't bully me.”

Hajime squints at him, but he doesn’t seem to be lying. “…okay,” he says.

“…only shake if you mean it,” Tooru says again, a little louder this time. Hajime nods, and he grabs Tooru’s hand and grips it tightly. “Promise.”

They let go of each other’s hands, and suddenly there’s a wide grin on Tooru’s face. “We’re best friends now!” he declares happily, and Hajime finds himself grinning, too.

~~~

“To.”

Tooru stirs, turning his head where it rests in Hajime’s lap and opening his eyes. “Hm…?”

Hajime pauses - he’s been threading his fingers absent-mindedly through Tooru’s hair, thinking, and now he twirls a strand between forefinger and thumb and makes a small, thoughtful noise.

“D’you remember the first thing you said to me?”

Tooru frowns slightly, his eyes losing focus as he tries to recall.

“…yeah, I think. Think I asked if you were a superhero, ‘cause of your net.” He suppresses a yawn and squirms slightly in Hajime’s lap. “…right?”

Hajime nods, and because Tooru’s closed his eyes again, he hums a little in agreement.

When he doesn’t elaborate, Tooru reopens his eyes to look at him questioningly. “Why?”

Hajime shrugs. “I dunno. I wasn’t sure anymore, somehow. Seems like a weird thing to say.”

Tooru scoffs. “You’re weird,” he says, with no real fire. Hajime flicks his forehead, and Tooru makes a face at him.

“Yeah, maybe. But I didn’t go around calling random kids superheroes.”

Tooru looks just about ready to roll his eyes, but something stops him. He blinks, and then he smiles.

“But Iwa-chan,” he says, using the nickname so he can make his voice a little more annoying, drawing out the whiny quality that he used to pout with back in high school. “You _are_ a superhero!”

Hajime snorts, and Tooru laughs, breaking character. “But you are,” he says, indignantly. “You’re my superhero. Always have been.”

And he gets sincere towards the end there, an air of nostalgia falling between them.

“…you always hid behind me, and held on to my sleeve,” Hajime remembers, and he starts carding his fingers through Tooru’s hair again. “You were such a wimp.”

Tooru gives him a scandalized look. “Not true! I was pretty and lovable and everyone picked on me! Of course I’d look to my hero Iwa-chan to defend my honor - you’ve got the stronger arms!”

And he reaches up to poke at Hajime’s bicep for good measure.

“…I definitely didn’t as a kid,” Hajime snaps, pulling his arm out of Tooru’s reach. Tooru laughs softly, but his eyes get that faraway look they always do when he’s thoughtful.

“…you were amazing,” he says, after a beat of silence. “So reliable and honest and straightforward. You always were.”

He meets Hajime’s gaze, and adds, almost as an afterthought: “You still are.”

They look at each other for a moment, and Hajime is already threatening to get lost in those eyes again when Tooru huffs out another little laugh. “…you made me promise not to stomp on bugs. Remember? You said if I did you couldn’t be my friend.”

Hajime clicks his tongue at him. “And you lied. You were a total bug-hater, Trashkawa.”

“Not true! I didn’t lie!” Tooru says, determined. “I promised I wouldn’t stomp on bugs, and I didn’t. I never said I liked them, and you never asked if I did.”

Hajime rolls his eyes. “Technicalities.”

“I just really wanted a friend, okay?”

Tooru is pouting, and it’s ridiculous but also kind of adorable.

“…and it had to be me?” Hajime asks, in mock-desperation. “Think how much easier my life would have been if you’d picked someone else!”

Now it’s Tooru’s turn to click his tongue at him. “You’d be miserable without me,” he says, and Hajime is caught off guard a little by the certainty in his voice. This sort of banter is normal, and they both know they wouldn’t trade what they have for the world, but it’s unusual for Tooru to say something so straightforward.

“…you know, you’re right,” Hajime says, after a brief pause, and he leans down to press a kiss to Tooru’s forehead. “I’d be completely miserable in any scenario without you, at this point,” he murmurs against his skin.

Tooru hums in agreement. “I’d probably be dead,” he says, and it’s the matter-of-fact way he says it that makes Hajime’s insides flip in all the wrong ways. Suddenly, he feels sick.

“Don’t be dramatic,” he says, but they both know it’s the truth. They both know how heavily Tooru depends on him, and they both know that Tooru would not have come this far without Hajime’s constant support, his concern and his care. He probably wouldn’t be here at all. He may or may not have given up along the way.

Tooru doesn’t respond, he just sort of shrugs, and Hajime leans back against the cushions of the sofa, exhaling in a heavy sigh. “I don’t like it when you talk like that. You matter to me, you know? It’s not… it’s not just something you can explain away in half a sentence, like I’d be living a completely normal life now if I hadn’t met you.”

He sighs again, and then he reaches for Tooru’s hands, lacing their fingers together.

“Hero or no hero, bug-lover or bug-hater - none of that matters. What matters is that we’re together.”

 _What matters is that I love you_ , is what Hajime doesn’t say, but Tooru hears it anyway. He guides their joined fingers up to his lips and kisses the knuckles on Hajime’s hand, his expression softening.

“You’re right,” he says quietly, “I’m sorry.”

Hajime shakes his head a little. “It’s okay. Just…”

He hesitates, searching for words. Tooru looks up at him patiently, and Hajime can’t help but think that it’s always been this way. Sure, Tooru relies on him, and Hajime has had to drag him out of his self-induced down-phases more times than he can count, but it’s the same for him. He relies on Tooru, needs him there, depends on his patience and his enthusiasm and his perspective. If Hajime is Tooru’s hero, then the reverse is definitely also true. He can’t see himself without Tooru anymore, and Tooru has saved him on more than one occasion.

“… just. I can’t lose you.”

And God damn it, he isn’t going to cry. Not right now, he won’t ruin the moment, he won’t-

But it’s too late, he realizes, and he kind of hates himself. He pulls his hand free and brushes his sleeve over his face, but there really is no point at all because Tooru has already seen the stray tears that are trickling down his face.

Tooru sits up rather abruptly, and before Hajime has time to process, he has already turned and thrown his arms around him. He pulls him close, lets him bury his head in the crook of his neck, and presses his lips to Hajime’s temple.

“You won’t,” he whispers. “You won’t. You’re a hero, Hajime, even if you don’t see it. You saved me, you do every day, and I can never leave. I’ll follow you wherever you go.”

With his face shielded from view, Hajime lets his tears fall. To him, it will always be Tooru who’s the hero. He’ll always look up to him, always remember the brilliant boy, the hard-working setter, the observant captain that he was and that Hajime fell in love with all those years ago. The boy with the bright, excited eyes and the glasses that were too big for his face.

“I need you,” he says, because he can’t manage _I love you_ , and _I need you_ is just as true. And because he knows that Tooru knows anyway, Tooru can always hear or tell what Hajime is really saying, what he really means, even if he doesn’t use those words. And he pulls him closer, twists his hands into the fabric of Tooru’s shirt and holds on, breathes him in, just-

He’ll be okay, as long as they’re together.

“You’ve got me. I’m right here.” And Tooru pulls back, cups Hajime’s face in his hands and kisses him, a breath across his lips, the ghost of a touch over his eyelids, his forehead and the tip of his nose. “You’ve got me, love,” he says. And Hajime stops shaking - he hadn’t realized that happened in the first place - and he whimpers a little. Tooru is right there, though, and he catches everything. He pulls him into a hug again, and starts kissing the top of his head, and his cheeks.

“I’ll always be here,” he whispers, and Hajime has never felt safer.

And if that doesn’t make Tooru his hero, he doesn’t know what does.

**Author's Note:**

> ...why does everything about either Iwaizumi or Oikawa always turn to IwaOi in my head? #oops  
>  I'm sorry if this is a mess and it doesn't quite fit with the whole _Iwaizumi Week_ concept but-  
>  I dunno. I guess I just needed an excuse to write.  
> Feel free to yell at me in the comments or on tumblr ^^'


End file.
